Russia: Alexei Navalny's funeral held under heavy police surveillance

The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalni, who died on February 16 in suspicious circumstances during his captivity in a Russian Arctic prison, was held this Friday. The ceremony was attended by a good number of people who crowded around the Orthodox temple where the ceremony was held. Diplomatic officials from some Western countries also reportedly attended the ceremony, although the full guest list was not disclosed.

Media images showed large groups of people chanting the opponent's name from outside, watched by a heavy police guard. Inside the church, those present lined up to bid farewell to the biggest Putin opposition figure of the last decade. Some images show how the queue of supporters outside the church stretched for several kilometers.

After remaining at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Marino, the coffin carrying Alexei Navalny's body was transported to the Borisov cemetery. According to New York Times reports, it was at this point that police officers made some arrests as attendees shouted proclamations against the war in Ukraine and against the Putin regime.

According to Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for Navalni's entourage, music was played during the funeral. In addition to Frank Sinatra's My Way, a version of the final music from Terminator 2, considered by Navalni as "the best movie in the world," was played.

Challenging the authorities

From the first moments, suspicion of incidents weighed on the celebration of the service. The Russian authorities feared that the ceremony would turn into a large demonstration against the Putin regime.

The deceased's team actually communicated their suspicions that the government tried to sabotage the ceremony. According to the oppositionist's close entourage, it became an impossible task to hire a hearse driver for the lawyer and political dissident's gifts.

As Kira Yarmysh said, the drivers had been "called by unknown persons and threatened not to take Alexei's body anywhere."

This was not the only difficulty in the organization. Navalni's relatives spoke of difficulties in finding a place for the funeral ceremony, until finally those in charge of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, in the Moscow district of Marino, where the opposition leader lived before being imprisoned, agreed. The remains in turn will rest in the Borisov cemetery. At both locations, AFP reported, uniformed police authorities had been patrolling since the previous night.

Death a few days before his possible release

This week it became known that Alexei Navalni died a few days before his possible release. The journalist Maria Pevchikh, a collaborator of the dissident, assured that a prisoner exchange had been planned between the international community opposed to Putin and the government. In exchange for Navalni, Germany was to release a Chechen criminal who killed a Georgian in 2021.

"On the evening of February 15, I received confirmation that the negotiations were in their final stage. On February 16, Alexei was killed," journalist Maria Pevchikh said about the circumstances of the death. Navalni's entourage, and much of the international community, have not ceased to accuse the Russian government of being behind the death of their biggest opponent, who until before his death was in good spirits and in good health.